By The Campfire
by Skylark Starflower
Summary: Jet shares a story with the team by the campfire.


Authours Note/Disclaimer: I don't own WA 3, it belongs to Media Vision/Sony.  
  
A bit of explanation: This fic is based on a dream I had a while ago. Any similarity between this fic and any others already posted is due to my subconscious. And besides, I'm sure BW0 won't mind. Right, BW? ^_^ Oh, and thanks to her for the words to the spell and the title. ^_^  
  
"By The Campfire"  
  
Written by Skylark Starflower  
  
Started Feb. 23rd, 2004  
  
Finished Feb. 25th, 2004  
  
"And the ghost of the Duke Begucci haunted Gunner's Heaven for the rest of it's unnatural life."  
  
Gallows wrapped up his story and smiled at the others, waiting to see how they'd react. He gave Jet a dirty look as the silver haired boy snorted.  
  
"You call that a scary story?" he asked, rolling his eyes. Gallows shrugged, still giving him a look.  
  
"Well, if you think you can do better, punk, go ahead and try."  
  
"Any five year old could tell a better ghost story. It would be a waste of my time to bother."  
  
Clive adjusted his glasses, the hint of a smirk on his face. "It would appear from the way you refuse that what you say is not true," he said.  
  
"Yeah, Jet. Share a scary story with us! I'm sure you've learned a few good ones, right?" giggled Virginia. Jet scowled at the others.  
  
"Fine, but don't blame me for your nightmares." With that, Jet began to weave his tale.  
  
* * *  
  
Gallows and Virginia sat around the campfire under the light of a full moon. The night was still young and the two were discussing the events of the day. It had been quite productive, the gem mine they owned outside of Little Rock held lots of the precious stones.  
  
"We're gonna be rich!" crowed Gallows. "It was a great idea to come here!"  
  
Virginia smiled at him as she continued roasting a marshmallow. "You know I'm not interesting in striking it rich. I'm just interesting in giving our children a happy future."  
  
"Yeah, true, but hey! As long as we're here, we may as well make it worth our time, right?"  
  
The young woman laughed and nodded. Neither of the two heard the light footsteps as a shadowy figure approached the camp. The voice was quiet, and surprised them both when it spoke.  
  
"It is dangerous out here at full moon. I would advise heading indoors if possible."  
  
After getting over the initial shock, Virginia turned to see the man who had spoken. He was tall, but not surprisingly so, with green spiky hair, a red jacket and a large rifle. His face was hidden in shadows, the light from the fire catching his glassing and making them appear as though they were glowing. He stepped forward into the light.  
  
"Who are you?" asked Gallows as Virginia motioned to the stranger to sit down and join them. He took a seat across from Gallows before replying.  
  
"My name is Clive Winslett." Clive straightened his glasses before continuing. "I really would advise heading in. Tonight is a dangerous night, with the moons out in their full splendor."  
  
Gallows laughed. "And what does that mean? Are they gonna fall out of the sky and flatten us all?"  
  
The green haired stranger shook his head as a sudden chill wind blew through the campsite, strong enough to fan the flames and make them flicker. "There is a werewolf on the loose in the area."  
  
"Werewolves? There's no such thing, they're just silly legends," stated Virginia. But Gallows believed him.  
  
"Not so fast, Ginny. Legends are often based in truth."  
  
"I see your friend here knows his lore." Clive adjusted his glasses once more. "But it is true whether you believe it or not. There is a dangerous werewolf in the area, and I am hunting her down. Please, heed my warning and head to where it is safer."  
  
As if backing up his claim, a mournful howl rose up and echoed away across the vast, dusty plains. It sounded very close by. Clive's earlier, somewhat laid back expression changed in an instant to one of alert watchfulness. He raised his rifle.  
  
"She's here."  
  
Virginia scoffed. "That's just a desert wolf. I'll show you." She stood and jogged off towards the sound, her dual pistols drawn.  
  
"Wait! What are you doing?!" Clive tried to stop her, but she was already too far ahead. Gesturing to Gallows to draw his weapon and follow him, he turned to follow Virginia.  
  
The light from the dual moons lit the area well enough to see by in the darkness, but casting strange shadows for monsters and other unusual creatures to hide in. The young woman cast her gaze about warily, expecting to find nothing more than a creature native to the area.  
  
She paused as she heard a slight shuffling noise, training her weapons into the shadow it had originated from. She thought she had found her desert wolf. She was wrong.  
  
It was over in a flash of teeth and purple blue fur. The werewolf leapt upon Virginia, snapping her jaws shut over the girl's throat. Clive and Gallows were still too far away to help as the werewolf ripped her throat out in a spray of blood.  
  
"Ginny! No!"  
  
Gallows' cry attracted the beast's attention and she turned and charged him. Clive aimed and fired, but the werewolf was too quick, leaping over the shot to land on Gallows' chest and sink her fangs into his throat.  
  
With a distressed gurgle, Gallows stumbled backwards, stepping over the edge of a cliff. The werewolf jumped off as he fell over to lie still at the bottom of the short drop.  
  
With Gallows out of the way, the werewolf turned snarling, her muzzle red with blood, towards Clive. The sniper had no time to raise his rifle before the monster was upon him. Her claws caught at his shoulder and raked down, tearing gaping wounds across his chest. The force of the attack set him spinning, and the werewolf took her chance to leap upon his back, intending to force him down. But he was too close to the edge of the cliff. She leapt back off as she felt him start to teeter dangerously, giving him the extra push to knock him over.  
  
The creature turned to bolt when a hand reached out and grabbed her by the tail. She yelped and turned to bite at the hand holding her, but Clive's desperate attempt to stop his fall was for naught. With a sickening ripping sound, the handful of fur he was holding tore off and he fell backwards over the side, landing roughly next to the still body of Gallows. The werewolf didn't remain to find out if he was dead or not, dashing off to disappear into the shadows.  
  
For several minutes, Clive did not stir, lying on his side where he landed, still as death. Then with a groan, he sat up slowly, the werewolf's fur still clutched in his hand. Glancing down at it, he muttered a few words that would have sounded like gibberish to anyone who heard him.  
  
"Kontan hyu-zu."  
  
Standing, he clutched his empty hand to the wounds on his chest. To anyone else, they would have proved fatal. But there were unnatural, dark forces at work, and they were what was keeping him alive. He spat out a curse upon the purple blue werewolf.  
  
"Luceid. I am sure that you feel the link as well, now. We are now connected, our destinies intwinded. I will not and cannot die until I have destroyed the beast that slew my family."  
  
He let the hand with Luceid's fur in it drop, the hairs falling through his fingers and gently drifting to the ground. Turning, he limped off in the direction of the nearest town, fading into the darkness leaving behind the two bodies, already forgotten.  
  
* * *  
  
"Now, if you don't mind, I'll be going to bed."  
  
That said, Jet stood and walked over to where his bed roll was layed out. The others exchanged glances as the silver haired youth ignored them, laid down and rolled over.  
  
Clive pushed his glasses back up his nose. "Well, it was a rather... unique tale."  
  
"Unique? He had me killed!" huffed Virginia. Gallows just laughed.  
  
"I guess you didn't notice, but he pretty much had all of us killed," he said. "Probably his way of getting back at us for pestering him into telling it in the first place."  
  
"I suppose you're right. But we should probably follow Jet's example now and head to bed ourselves. We've got a long day ahead of us," replied the young girl. It was probably a good thing the others didn't know that Jet was still awake as the mournful cry of a wolf rang through the air, startling them.  
  
Jet fell asleep wearing a smirk.  
  
The End 


End file.
